How could such a thing occur? The Army is mum on the subject.
However, now in her first American TV interview, Sgrena relates to 60 Minute's Correspondent Scott Pelley the fatal rescue that has enraged the Italian people where, with 70% of the population against it, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, none-the-less refuses to remove Italian troops. In Italy, the killing of Nicola Calipari is considered a national tragedy, despite the reality that few Italians knew who he was before the killing and those who did know his name certainly were not aware that he was a secret agent who, over a period of several months, rescued no less than five kidnapped Italians in Iraq.
Calipari's last assignment was to be the gallant rescue of female reporter Giuliana Sgrena.
Sgrena's captors forced her to make a video in which she was to beg that Italian troops be withdrawn from Iraq. She did plead the case, saying they would kill her if Italy didn't remove its troops from Iraq.
Wednesday evening, She told 60 Minutes that she was frightened of being beheaded. She just wanted them to shoot her instead. "I thought I am a woman, so they will kill me with a shot. Not cut me, the throat."
The interview between 60 Minutes, Sgrena and her husband took place on the balcony of their Rome apartment a few days after she left the hospital, where she had several surgeries trying to recover from a shoulder gunshot wound.
She is a 56 year old a veteran reporter for a communist newspaper, and like most sane people stands against the war and has said as much in her reports. One day in Baghdad, several armed men yanked her out of her car in depositing her in a house as a prisoner. There she made a decision to pretend to be braver and stronger than her captors might expect of a woman.
"Sometimes, they told me, 'Why you don't you cry?' Normally, I cry for everything when I am at home,'" she said "And so my kidnappers told me, 'Cry. It will be better for you. Think of your family. So maybe you can cry.'"
However, Sgrena would not cry, at all, except once when the kidnappers ordered her to beg her husband, Pier, for help.
Her incarceration angered the Italians and a rescue attempt became a national point of honor in Italy. A photo of Sgrena's face draped the city hall in Rome's and the leading Roman soccer team all wore "Liberate Giuliana" jerseys. Oddly enough, her kidnappers happened to see that on TV, and were amazed.
The kidnappers demanded that Italy remove it's troops from Iraq. However, Sgrena informed them that their chances were slim. "I told them, 'If you want me to ask to Berlusconi that we withdraw our troops, if not, you kill me. So, do it now'" "'Kill me now," She told them.
Berlusconi, however, did not pull his men out of Iraq, and indeed, instead he sent another man to Iraq-the great Nicola Calipari went to the Middle East intending to bargain with those captors of Giuliana Sgrena. Shortly thereafter, the kidnappers came to tell her the good news, "They told me, 'You are going to Rome!'"
"I am going to Rome? I couldn't believe."
No one knows what, or even if, Calipari offered anything in exchange for Giuliana. The Italians have denied that a ransom was offered. However the kidnappers released her and stuck her blindfolded in a parked car. Her eyes were covered with cotton and sunglasses, and a Babushka-like scarf coveredher head.
Very soon after being left she heard a male voice speaking Italian close to her ear, "'Giuliana, Giuliana, I'm Nicola. I am a friend of Gabriele, of Pier. Now you are free. Come, don't be afraid. You are free. You are free.'"
"'You are free. You are free.' Yes, and this was really a very, very, it was just so happy, so really for me, it was a new life,", she blurted out.
Professor Bagnolo is a Renaissance man: Cultural Anthropologist, Architectural designer, painter, writer, novelist, theologian. As a child prodigy, abed with polio for almost two years, with an off the charts IQ, reading at the graduate level by 5th grade, offered an opportunity to skip three grades at age 8. Later He was a recipient of an Art Institute scholarship at age 11, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in Anthropology and in Painting and a merit scholarship in art, and was appointed a Graduate Research Assistant position in college. He holds a triple bachelor's degree in Painting and Drawing, Anthropology, Architectural Design Advertising. MA's in Cultural Anthro, Painting and more. After being tenured he taught; architecture, anthropology, Theology, advertising, painting and drawing, entrepreneuring and Creative Profit Making. He produced a star-studded Music festival, had a radio talk show in Chicago, and cable TV show. Now, retired from Teaching, he paints, writes, and pursues other ventures.
The above bio harvested from the comments of Deans, colleagues, students, clients and collector's.
Pete Do you think, in light of her being a communist journalist and writing against the war, and that the Italians gave notice to the US Military of the upcoming rescue, and given Calipari's heroics on past missions, that they were singled out for a HIT by politico's?
by
Agatha Payne (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 50 comments)
on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 11:32:31 AM
I don't think that The Guardsmen would do such a thing, but it did cross my mind that maybe higherups ordered the "hit" without telling the Guardsmen who, what, how or why. They may have tightened restrictions, but the sudden onslaught with no warning, is to me a sign that someone was gunning for Giuliana Sgerna and maybe Calipari and if so, they almost succeeded in killing both.
I think an investigation of the shooting needs be done, but there is so damned much that needs investigation, it is doubtful unless The Italian Prime Minsiter gets off his duff and demands one, that anything will be done about it. What we do need is an end to the Bushites rule of murder and corrution and we need to demand of all contractors in Iraq to return all profits above 5% and if they do not, sue them and if that doesn't work declare Martial Law on the Contractors in Iraq and those that established foreign offices elsewhere in the Middle East and have the US Military surround their offices putting them under siege until they return the No-Bid contract costs less 5% of the gross.
by
Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo (144 articles, 1 quicklinks, 95 diaries, 1311 comments)
on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 11:47:28 AM
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